Thursday, October 23, 2014

Session
08 Summary – 10/17/2014

Events
Summary: Mullyn and Dain reunite with the others back at Cragmaw Castle after a long flight to avoid their pursuers. Once they arrive, the party gathers their strength and wits to fight the creature behind the large barred door. The owlbear that was housed inside the room is easily defeated, and the party continues their search of the castle for any trace of evidence that might indicate the direction in which Gundren had been taken. After a few fruitless encounters and no further leads, the party decides to return to Phandolin. After refreshing and restocking in town, their hope is to explore the old Cragmaw Hideout where they first encountered the goblin, Yemic; the hope being that they may find a much needed map disclosing the location of Wave Echo Cave, where they believe Gundren to now be held prisoner. Should they not find a map, they plan to pursue the Banshee Queen, Agatha, appealing to her vanity and offering her a jeweled comb in exchange for the location of Wave Echo Cave.

However, when the party does reach Phandolin, they find the entirety of the town engulfed in flames and under siege by dozens of goblins. Frantically, our brave adventurers make quick work of the fiends and quench the fires - albeit with a little help from a mysterious squad of local town defenders who disappeared as quickly as they had arrived.

Who has survived this tragic raid, and what dark purpose lies behind the fiery assault? Only time will tell . . .

<Murna
Dendrar> - Acquire
the emerald Necklace from the Herb and Alchemy Shop in Thundertree.
It is the party's reward for rescuing her [Complete].

<Daran
Edermath> - Explore Old Owlwell to the NE. Daran indicates that
there is a Watchtower there. The party is to protect any miners there
from any undead or orcs that may be wandering about.

Events
Summary:
Having made their way into Cragmaw Castle the party unexpectedly
splits. Why? Well, you see, the party found themselves in the castle
kitchen with two goblins sleeping in boiling soup (thanks to Mullyn),
many strewn about the floor dead, and two running out of the room in
fear to gather reinforcements. Granted, the wise course of action
would be for our five heroes to gather themselves in a united front
for the impending reinforcements. But, unfortunately, this did not
happen. For reasons unknown, Dain and Mullyn decide it best to
quickly head to the rear entrance of the castle to guard against any
stragglers. Good idea? As we shall see, it was not.

We
now find only three of our heroes, Endelthil, Nulara, and Thorin as
potential defenders against the inevitable swarm of reinforcements.
But the regrettable events do not end there. No they do not. For
further reasons unknown, whilst Nulara and Endelthil create a
makeshift barrier of tables to block the doorway,Thorin decides to
attempt to revive one of the boiling goblins in order to interrogate
him. Maybe our dwarven friend was thinking the little green critter
would alert us to the fact that reinforcements were coming? Some
mysteries will die with their originator – as was the case with
poor Thorin, for he did die; surrounded by a swarm of hobgoblins and
goblins that had suddenly charged through the makeshift baracade. In
his last moments, he looked up in confusion from his efforts to
revive and question the half-boiled goblin, to see a horde of evil
descend upon him – and then he was no more.

Surely,
things could not get any worse for our dwindling party? Oh, but
things did get worse. Enraged, by the death of their fallen comrade,
Nulara and Endelthil unleash a flurry of arrows and punches at nearly
a dozen oncoming goblin-kind. Unfortunately, only moments into the
battle – Nulara falls, and only Endelthil alone remains. Now, even
the ever-confident Endelthil knew he could not last in a battle
versus nine enemies. Blocked in a corner, he killed only the needed
adversaries to make his escape possible. He bolted out of the castle
kitchen and into the hallway pursued by at least three assailants.
Thorin was gone, Nulara was gone, and now - only moments later –
Endelthil, too – was gone. TPK.

Oh,
I suppose I should have mentioned that when I said Endelthil was
“gone”, I only meant that he went invisible as he drank his sole
invisibility potion. Wouldn't you if you had a group of goblins
pursuing you and you were on the precipice of death? What? TPK? No,
not “total party kill”, it means “that's pretty keen.” Keen
of Endelthil to slip away from the visible world, that is. Now that
we have all that business cleared up let's move forward with the
story.

So
much happened after this, so we will move quickly. Endelthil fought
off and killed the enemies in pursuit as he fled from the castle into
the surrounding woods. He looked around for Dain and Mullyn, but
found only signs that they had been chased away by a mob of goblins.
Alone in the woods without hope and without ally, all seemed lost to
Endelthil. But all was not lost, for who came strolling by in his
clanking armor on his own personal errand to check out Cragmaw
Castle? None other than our favorite cleric, Bardu! What fortune!
Surely, the had of providence was indeed with our elven friend!

Endelthil
quickly signals Bardu and brings him up to speed. The duo heal up,
leave the woods and infiltrate the castle once again in an attempt to
locate the bodies of their fallen comrades – and possibly find
Gundren. Once inside they find their friends Thorin and Nulara only
unconscious, but guarded by enemy hobgoblins. The hobgoblins had
spared the fallen heroes for interrogation purposes! But, their
captors would not be afforded the same luxury. For, with all the
vengeance the two could muster, Bardu and Endelthil obliterate the
two guards and revive their senseless comrades. Finally, things were
looking up. Well, for the time being at least. Okay, actually things
started to spiral downwards from here.

As
the four of them ventured further into the castle, they opened a door
only to greeted by the following sight: Iarno, the missing wizard,
standing beside a large bugbear who is holding a knife to an
unconscious Gundren's throat. Oh, and beside the bugbear is his pet
wolf. And did I mention that at that very moment Thorin was stabbed
from behind by a stealthy Drow named Vyerith.

Well,
the details of this wonderful little encounter are a bit hazy, as all
who participated in it, do not like to discuss the horrific and
shameful events that took place that day. Suffice it to say that
“negotiations” to acquire Gundren did not go as intended. Thorin
fell in battle (well, actually he fell before he could swing his axe)
as did Nulara. And poor Endelthil missed the only shot that mattered
– a shot at the bugbear's head. Overwhelmed, the elf surrendered
all the party's money, his bow, and his pride in exchange for the
lives of the now unconscious Thorin and Nulara.

The
four heroes, broken and battered, walk away from the castle knowing
that Gundren will be taken away by Vyerith to the Black Spider who dwells in an inscrutable location. They had failed their friend. All they could do
was silently retreat to the woods and spend a night in somber silence
to recoup.

As
soon as they could, with their wounds healed, but their spirits still
low, our little band of failed rescuers drudged back into the castle
only to find Iarno, Vyerith, and their poor Gundren missing. The only
one to be found was the poor bugbear – or what was left of him –
as he lie on the ground bloodied and lifeless. Evidently, the wizard
and the Drow chose to have their own “negotiations” with the
bugbear who had attempted to sell Gundren to them. Vyerith had simply taken Gundren from the greedy little bugbear by force. Poor bugbear.

With
no leads to the whereabouts of Gundren, the party explores the rest
of the castle. They find (and kill) a giant octopus creature, a
golden elf statuette that can be used as an augur, Sildar's old
armor, and a barred-room that houses an enormous beast. Should the
party enter the beastly room? The golden elf statue of augury tells
of both weal and woe should they enter. With the party having such
luck lately, why not give it a shot? Well, we shall see what happens.
Let us hope that our heroes have learned from their mistakes!

Vyerith,
the Drow in service of the Black Spider has taken Gundren to an
unknown location. That is, if she did not kill Gundren . . .

Iarno,
the Wizard, is again at large.

Thorin
refuses to use Shield of Faith :-)

Endelthil
negotiates almost
as well as Han Solo did in the Death Star control room. “Uh,
we had a slight weapons malfunction, but uh... everything's perfectly
all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here now, thank you. How
are you?”

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Favrik –
Mysterious - and scary - member of the Dragon Cult whom the party
encountered holed up in a small building within the town of
Thundertree.

Reidoth –
A white-bearded Druid who seems to have information concerning Wave
Echo Cave and Cragmaw Castle. He resides in a small reinforced
building in Thundertree. He has asked the party to rid Thundertree of
the Green Dragon that rests in the nearby tower.

<Murna
Dendrar> - Acquire the emerald Necklace from the Herb and
Alchemy Shop in Thundertree. It is the party's reward for rescuing
her [Complete].

<Daran
Edermath> - Explore Old Owlwell to the NE. Daran indicates that
there is a Watchtower there. The party is to protect any miners there
from any undead or orcs that may be wandering about.

Events
Summary:
What an interesting adventure our band of heroes had this time! A
mysterious cult, a green dragon, and a profoundly enchanted – or
perhaps deeply cursed - party member! But we get ahead of ourselves.
I suppose we should start back in Neverwinter. You see, the party
found its way back to Neverwinter simply to resupply and recoup
before pursing leads in Thundertree. They could not have foreseen
what lie ahead of them.

Their
first hours there were uneventful. Bardu sought the town temple,
Mullyn reported to the sage who had been working on translating his
cryptic symbols, Dain found luxurious housing to rest for the night,
and Endelthil purchased some new gear. Where was Thorin you ask?
Well, no on can say for sure as he went missing for some days, but it
is suspected that he sought out the cantankerous lady-dwarf Grista
back in Phandalin – we all saw the twinkle in his eye!

Anyway,
the intrigue began when Mullyn decided to cast a detect magic spell
on a silver longsword that the party had acquired on their previous
adventure. Oh yes, the sword was indeed enchanted and useful for Dain
in battle, but this was not an unexpected discovery. What startled
Mullyn (and quite deeply at that) was the realization that his
comrade, Endelthil, was also enchanted – deeply and profoundly so!
Was it a domination spell? Necromancy? Surely it was not a Wish
spell!? Whatever permeated the elf's being was indeed powerful magic.
Poor Mullyn – in shock and a bit of terror – found the nearest
intoxicating beverage and promptly drank himself to sleep.

Endelthil,
meanwhile, retreated to his own room in Neverwinter's inn to ponder
this new discovery about himself. What was he? Who or what did this
to him? But, before much consideration could be given to this, he
noticed a note on the floor of his room – marked by a gold coin of
the Zhentarim! Following the note's instruction, the elf took a
midnight stroll to a specified location, only to be startled by a
shadowy member of the Zhentarim. The mysterious rogue directed
Endelthil to find what he could of an enigmatic Dragon Cult and any
trace of dragon activity when he arrived in Thundertree. What? What
is this cult? What was our elven friend supposed to do if he
encountered any of this? Before these questions could be asked, the
stealthy informant vanished as quickly as he had appeared. With so
much to take in, Endelthil returned to his room to meditate until
morning.

Finally,
morning came, and the party set out for Thundertree. The first day of
their journey remained decidedly uneventful. Although, I must say,
Mullyn did seem a bit jittery and, with a cautious eye, kept his
distance from Endelthil. The night quickly arrived and they set up
camp as was their custom, and took shifts to keep watch. On Bardu's
shift, he noticed a faint moaning and woke his comrades. Even with a
magically lighted arrow fired by Endelthil into the darkness, the source of the
sound remained undiscovered. Though wary, they remained safe into morning and then continued towards Thundertree.

And
so our heroes reached Thundertree, greeting by wooden signs posting
warnings of plant monsters and zombies. Peculiar, but not altogether
unexpected. Reidoth was supposed to be here in this town. But where?
The party searched many empty buildings in the eerily silent town
only to be greeted by the Ash Zombie's inside – which were quite
easily dispatched. What? What are Ash Zombies, you say? Well, I
suppose Mullyn and Dain would know this best, for they were the ones
infected by them. You see, these creatures emit a nasty black ash
that, when inhaled, causes the victim to exhibit zombie-like
symptoms. Gray skin, twitching, vomiting – nasty business! Yes,
thankfully Mullyn and Dain were healed of this affliction by Raidoth,
be we will get to that.

First,
however, our little party encountered an occupied, but well-locked,
dwelling. Curious that someone would choose to hole up in a
zombie-infested place like this, isn't it? Well that is what the
party thought, too; and it was only after much coercion and some
persuading by Bardu that one of the occupants finally relented and
opened the door. And who was behind that door? None other than
members of the Dragon Cult! Favrik, the leader, stated they do not
wish to harm anyone. They only wish to speak with the Green Dragon in
Thundertee's nearby tower. Generously – or perhaps deviously –
the Cult offered to help the party address the dragon. However, the
party kindly refused, gently insisting that they must first find
their friend, Reidoth.

What
was the party to do? There was a Green Dragon in a tower only meters
away! Was the Dragon Cult to be trusted or killed? For that matter,
what was the nature of the dragon? Endelthil seemed to think that a
riddle he received many nights ago during his meditation spoke of
this green dragon – but he could not make sense of it. At a loss,
he suggested that Bardu used his Scroll of Augury to see what might
happen if they addressed the dragon alone – but the Cleric foresaw
only their woe. Frustrated, they searched the remainder of the area
finding the green emerald mentioned by Murna. A small joy amidst a
dire situation.

This
joy, of course, was soon cut short as Mullyn and Dain began
manifesting signs of having been infected by the Ash Zombies - gray skin, bulging eyes. I told you it was nasty business! Bardu
did what he could, but his magic only seemed to stabilize their
current condition. They were running out of options. However, there
was one building left to explore. With anticipation the party knocked
on its door. A white-beard man greeted them kindly and introduced
himself as Reidoth. Finally! They had found the one they were looking
for!

Reidoth
welcomed them in, and the party shared with him their need to find
their friend, Gundren, in Cragmaw Castle. The Druid handed Dain and
Mullyn some (barely) edible healing substance to cure them of the zombie
sickness. Then, he calmly explained that he had information about
both Cragmaw Castle and Wave Echo Cave. He generously provided the needed directions to Cragmaw Castle; but before he would point them to Wave Echo Cave, he would ask that the party get rid of, or preferably kill,
the nearby dragon.

So
many questions lingered. How should they confront the dragon? Should
they include the Dragon Cult in their effort? Should they even bother with the dragon now? Who could be trusted? What meaning was to be found in Endelthil's riddle - if any? They were too tired to make a well-informed decision, and gladly accepted the offer to spend a restful night in Reidoth's abode. For tomorrow, they knew, may not be so restful.

Notable
Items Acquired:
Emerald Necklace (200 gp)

XP
Acquired Per Party Member: 138
XP

Information
Learned:

Reidoth
has information about the location of both Wave Echo Cave and
Cragmaw Castle.

The
Dragon Cult, which worships undead dragons, wants to speak with the
green dragon in Thundertree Tower.

The
ash dispelled by Ash Zombies will make the one who comes in contact
with it digress into a zombie-like state. Reidoth has a cure for
this. The party should stock up on this.

Hollia
is away investigating some of the nearby miners. She should return
in a few days.